


Run Along Home

by secret_daydreamer



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Skye | Daisy Johnson-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-11-13 10:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18030131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secret_daydreamer/pseuds/secret_daydreamer
Summary: 7 year old Daisy runs away from her foster family so she doesn't have to go back to the orphanage.





	1. Life at the Malcolms'

Daisy ran into her room and locked it behind her. She sank down onto the floor and buried her head in her arms.  
Stupid foster mum! Stupid Alice! Stupid everyone!  
This was supposed to last longer. She had really tried. She had been polite, had done all her chores almost without complaint. She had done everything right. She hadn’t broken anything, hadn’t talked back. Even when Alice had started blaming her for her mistakes and her foster mum had started yelling at her, Daisy hat just looked down and said “Sorry, it won’t happen again.” She had done everything right. Alice should have been the one that her foster mum yelled at. She should have been beaten. Well, nobody should be beaten. But if anyone deserved, it was her.  
And now she had to go back. All because of a stupid broken laptop. Daisy had only played with it. It had been perfectly okay when she left it. Stupid Alice had taken it and broken it. And Daisy was being yelled at and beaten for it.  
She wiped her bloody nose with one sleeve and her tears with the other. She was not going back. No matter what her foster mum said. She was never going back to that horrible orphanage. Never.  
She pushed herself off of the floor and went to her wardrobe. She yanked a fresh sweatshirt out and changed into it. She threw the old one into the corner and sniffled one more time.  
She was never going back.  
After pulling her ratty old backpack out from under the bed, she shoved every piece of clothing she could fit into it.  
She let out a startled gasp and dropped the backpack when someone pounded on the door. She hastily pushed it back under the bed.  
“Mary Sue, open up the bloody door”, her foster mother, Ms. Malcolm yelled.  
Instinctively Daisy took a step back. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want Ms. Malcolm in here, but she also couldn’t make her escape through the window, and not without food and water for at least a couple of days either.  
That left her no choice. She had to open the door.  
“You snooty little brat better not break anything else!” Ms. Malcolm loomed over her. She was a large woman, or she seemed that way to Daisy. She had long dirty blond, stringy hair and face like a pitbull. Her arms were muscled and thick and her hands were as large as plates but much heavier. In short: Ms. Malcolm was scary. “I need the room for the next one.”  
Daisy just glared at her. Before, she would’ve apologised and begged not to have to go back to the orphanage. It had never worked. Daisy’s mind was made up.  
“I’ll clean up the room. I’ll be ready to leave in the morning,” Daisy said. She couldn’t help defiantly pushing her chin forward.  
She shoved Daisy towards the bed. “You better be!” Ms. Malcolm turned around, walked back downstairs and grumbled to herself: “Nuns were right, nothin’ but trouble, that one.”  
Daisy pushed back down her tears and locked the door again. She needed a plan.  
That night, Daisy lay awake until she knew everyone would be asleep. She had some experience in that area. Ms. Malcolm would sometimes withhold food as a punishment, so Daisy had learned to wait 30 minutes after her husband went to sleep before going downstairs. She knew where the staircase creaked and would memorise where stuff was placed that day. Once, she hadn’t been careful and she’d fallen over a laundry basket that Mr. Malcolm had put on the stairs after Daisy had gone to sleep. Ms. Malcolm had locked her in her room the next two days and had only given her a piece of bread each day and a bottle of water.  
After that, Daisy had learned to keep a stash of packed food like muesli or chocolate bars or other snacks that would last a while. She had learned to carefully reach out with her foot before taking a step. She had been with the Malcolms for almost a year. She had become an expert in manoeuvring the house in the middle of the night without any light.  
She snuck downstairs without making any mistakes. She knew this. This was the easy part.  
She had scouted the kitchen for food she’d be able to take with her after Ms. Malcolm had forced her to watch them eat without getting any herself and then wash the dishes for everyone. She had found a couple of muesli bars, a packed loaf of bread, a package of cheese – she didn’t need to be careful that no one noticed this time, by the time they would wake up she’d be long gone – a bottle of water that she would be able to refill in public bathrooms, she’d considered taking a few apples but they wouldn’t keep the hunger away for too long. She needed to be smart and she couldn’t fit much more into her backpack. She had already put on as many clothes as possible – her thick, warm winter jacket over three sweatshirts, she was already sweating heavily but she didn’t know how long she would have to sleep outside, she needed clothes. But she needed food more. She pulled out some clothes and stuffed the backpack with cans of beans and stew from the cupboard. It would be heavy, but she needed the food.  
When she had filled every last pocket of her jacket and the backpack with food, she picked her teddy – Skye - up from the floor and shouldered the backpack. It was almost too heavy, it might slow her down, she thought. She had to take everything anyway. She had no choice.  
She had plotted every detail of her escape that night, while she was lying in bed, waiting for everyone to go to sleep. The front door was not an option. It was locked and while she knew where the key was it would be too much noise to unlock and open. But there was a window on the opposite side of the Malcolms’ bedrooms. If she was careful she’d be able to climb out.  
She opened the window slowly. There was a flower pot beneath it, she needed it to climb down, she was too small. She threw down Skye first and then flung one leg over the window sill and then another. She carefully lowered herself down until her feet touched the flower pot – and then, she fell.


	2. A New Home?

Her feet hadn’t been balanced on the flower pot and it had tipped to one side, so she had lost balance. The pot had crashed to the side with a loud crack!  
Daisy knew Mr. Malcolm had a very light sleep, so she had to hurry. She picked up Skye and made towards the gate. She knew it would creak and she couldn’t climb over. She had to run but that would be too loud, too. She needed to go away. She couldn’t be caught. She was close to crying.  
She needed to be brave now. So, she opened the door as quietly as she could and turned right, where she knew the shadow of the trees would hide her. She’d had some experience sneaking around, she knew what she was doing.  
She’d been walking for a while, she didn’t know how long exactly, but it was already turning light. She was getting exhausted, she’d walked all the way outside of the town and along a field. She would have to hide and sleep in it before cars would start coming down the road.   
She could make out a small shed – for hay probably – on the horizon. It was till far away, but she could make it and hide in there.  
That afternoon, when she woke up Daisy was feeling tired, her legs were aching and she was hungry. She had to be smart about the food. She couldn’t eat too much but the cheese would go bad soon, so she ate half of that with a piece of bread.   
She walked the entire night again and slept in a forest the next day. She knew she couldn’t keep it up forever. She hadn’t found water yet and she barely had any left. She’d come by a creek that night, but it had been too dirty to drink. She needed to hide in a city. She needed a place to stay permanently, or at least for a couple of days. She was probably still too close to her old foster family and the orphanage. She started crying again. Maybe she wasn’t brave enough for this. Maybe the orphanage would have been the better choice. It was too late now, though. She couldn’t go back. Ms. Malcolm or the nuns would just beat her again, no one would ever want her after this. She would be stuck in the orphanage forever. It was too late. She had to move forward. So, she got up and walked another night.  
She reached a train station a little outside of a village close to morning. She didn’t have any money. She waited until there were a lot of people and then got on a train.  
She had been on the train for most of the morning. She had to hide in the restroom a couple of times when the guard was making the rounds because she naturally had no money to buy a ticket. She filled up her water bottle a couple of times, too, because she was so thirsty that she chucked away the entire bottle the first time.  
An elderly man sat across from around noon. He kept glancing at her for a couple of minutes. He didn’t seem dangerous, but she still wanted to get out of there.   
“Are you alright, sweetheart?”, he asked before she could decide to leave.  
She stared back at him. She hadn’t realised but she must look horrible. She had slept on the ground for the last couple of nights and hadn’t got a chance to clean up since she’d run away.  
“Where are your parents?”  
“Uh”, she didn’t really know what to say. She needed to get away. “At home. I’m on my way to see them” she lied.   
She left the train at the next stop. The train station was almost empty and she didn’t seem to have ended up in a very large town, so she had to find a hiding place quickly.  
She found a tree house near a farm. As she stood before it, she could picture it in her head as her new home. It would protect her from rain and snow. She knew she probably couldn’t stay there forever because it probably belonged to other kids who wouldn’t like sharing with her. For now, though, she could stay there. As she climbed in and set out her belongings, she imagined what it would be like to stay there permanently. It would be like her own little house without anyone hitting her, yelling at her or blaming her for breaking stuff. She could eat whenever she was hungry as soon as she had figured out how to get food. Maybe she could find a library and teach herself how to read. They often had toy sections where children stayed when their parents were reading, so she probably wouldn’t draw attention.   
She pulled out her clothes and neatly put them in on of the corners. She pulled off her three sweatshirts and changed into a clean one. Then she lay out the rest of her food. She had two cans of stew, three cans of beans, half a loaf of bread, half a jar of peanut butter that she had already had in her backpack for days when Ms. Malcolm had locked her into her room and a number of packaged candies. She also kept a can opener in her backpack, so they wouldn’t be a problem, although the contents probably wouldn’t be too tasty, but it would have to do. It would last her a week maybe if she rationed the food. She should probably keep the cans, though, for when winter came. She could probably find fruits and vegetables now, but it was already October. Water was more of a problem. She could walk back to the train station if she didn’t find anything closer, but it was at last a half hour walk and she would prefer not to have to make that journey every night.  
She ate and drank something and then lay down to sleep on a pillow of jumpers. She snuggled into her winter jacket and slept the entire afternoon.  
When she woke, it was already dark. She decided it was probably best to wait a little while longer before scouting the town. She sat in the entrance of the tree house and looked out into the dark forest. Every little noise scared her. It had been fine before, when she was always either sleeping or walking but now, just sitting here, she felt like a target. Wild animals could attack her, or someone could find her. What if someone noticed her staying here and called the police, she couldn’t run fast enough if they were actually looking for her. They probably were looking for her. She wondered how long they would be looking. Ms. Malcolm and the nuns probably didn’t care but they would have alerted social services or even the police. They would have to look for her at least for some time but there wouldn’t be much fuss made about a troublemaker like her. They would probably be glad to be rid of her.   
An owl hooted in the distance and she jumped. The forest was a scary place in the night. The lights from the village were barely visible from here and the farm house was dark, too. She took out her torch and looked around the area. It was autumn, so she could probably find some nuts around here. It worked for squirrels, so it would have to do for her, too.   
She was bored. She would have to find something to occupy her time with in the future. Daisy couldn’t remember ever having that problem before. Whenever she’d had free time, she’d be made to do chores before. There would actually be time to play and learn now. Maybe this was the right decision after all. It would be tough, but it would still be better than the orphanage. She could be happy in this tree house, in this tiny village next to this empty farm house.   
With renewed enthusiasm, Daisy climbed down the ladder and made to walk into town. She considered if she should take her stuff with her or at least hide it. But it was night time, nobody would steal her things in the middle of the night in the forest. She decided to pack the food into the backpack anyway, just in case.   
Her trip to town was rather successful. She walked past a field with different vegetables. She probably couldn’t eat most of them without cooking them, but she could steal some of the carrots and celery. Maybe with time she could learn to make fires and cook the vegetables. She hoped the farmer wouldn’t mind. She wouldn’t take too much, just enough too eat. With time, when she was older and not as suspicious anymore and when the police surely weren’t looking for her anymore, she could trade labour for food, so she wouldn’t have to steal anymore. There was also a library building only a ten-minute walk away, so she could learn to read and maybe write. She could also fill up her water bottle there every day, so that problem was solved. This would work. She would be happy here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please know that I have no idea what I'm talking about. So it's probably not going to be very realistic. Still, I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful day.


	3. New Friends

Daisy was not happy. Almost three weeks had passed since she had started staying in the tree house. She went to the library every day but hadn’t really made progress with her reading. The librarian was also starting to get suspicious that she came every day when she should have been at school, so she could only go in the afternoons now. And then two children had started showing up at her tree house a week ago, so she had to hide her cans and spare clothes that she didn’t take with her to wash at the library in the forest before she left. Then the farmer had picked most of the food that was edible without cooking, so she would have to open her cans soon, since there weren’t as many nuts as she had thought. It was also getting colder at night, so she had to wear several jumpers and her thick coat to sleep at all.  
One morning she was woken up by chatter. She was used to chatter from the orphanage, so she didn’t immediately realise what it meant. When it registered, she shot upwards, hastily gathered her things, shoved them into her backpack and scrambled down the ladder. She lost her footing, though, and fell straight on her face. The two children, that she had so far managed to avoid, because the only came in the afternoons, stood there, right in front of her, early in the morning.  
“Are you okay?”, the girl asked.  
“I-uh… yes?”  
“Why are you in our tree house?”, the boy asked.  
“Don’t be rude, Leo”, the girl chastised and slapped his arm lightly.  
“Sorry.”  
Daisy scrambled up to her feet and shouldered her backpack. “I…uh… I’ll be off then.”  
“No, wait, it’s okay. We’re not mad. We can all play together. I’m Jemma. This is Leo. What’s your name?”  
“Daisy.”  
“Cool. Did you just move here?”  
“Well… sort of.” Daisy was very uncomfortable. They seemed friendly enough but that wouldn’t last. She had to get out of here before they could tell their parents about her.  
“How old are you? Maybe, we’ll be in the same class once you go to school,” Jemma said excitedly.  
She had to lie. They would notice if she never showed up for school. They looked very young, so they must be in first year. “Second year”, she blurted out.  
“Oh, us, too. This is going to be great! Leo and I skipped first year, so we don’t know very many people in our year.”  
This was even worse. Now they would definitely notice. She had to make up something quickly. “I’m not going to school. I’m… home-schooled. We’re just stopping by in town. We- I won’t be in school.” She finished lamely.  
“You’ve run away, haven’t you?”, Leo asked quietly.  
“Please, please don’t tell your parents,” Daisy begged, “I can’t go back to the orphanage! Please!” She backed away from them, prepared to run. Maybe no one would believe them. Adults tended not to listen to kids and even if they did, by the time they returned with their parents she would be gone. Maybe she could be at the train station before they found her. They wouldn’t take this away from her. She wouldn’t allow them.  
“No, no. We promise,” said Jemma and took a step towards her. “You can stay in our tree house. Do you have enough food? And blankets? Oh my, you poor thing. You must be so cold at night.”  
Daisy didn’t know what to say. This could be a trap, but she would play along for now. As soon as they left, though, she would have to run. And she would have to be quick about it. The police would soon know that she was here. She would have to hide further away from people next time. She would have to be smarter next time.  
“Leo, why don’t you go get some food and blankets.”  
He nodded and walked away without a word.  
“He’s not very chatty,” she apologised and smoothed out her shirt. “Well,” she breathed, “up you go. Let’s see what you have and what you still need.”  
She ushered her towards the ladder. She had no choice but to climb up the ladder. Running now would not do her any good. Jemma was probably faster than her if it came down to it. They sat across from each other in the tree house. Daisy clutched her backpack to her chest.  
“So…” Jemma started. “How long have you been staying here?”  
“A bit over a week,” she replied. It would be better to keep it vague, make it harder to identify her as Mary Sue Poots.  
“Fitz and I saw you at the library two weeks ago,” she said, looking guilty.  
“Oh.”  
“Yeah.” There was an awkward silence. They both looked around the room, avoiding each other’s eyes.  
She grew increasingly uncomfortable as time passed. She had no escape plan. She got mad at herself. She should have stuck to her own rules. Never not have an escape plan. She should have learned. Maybe she should fight Jemma.  
Jemma breathed in sharply every once in a while, as if starting to say something but seemed to think better of it, while Daisy pondered her options.  
When they Daisy could hear footsteps nearing her, Jemma let out a relieved breath. Daisy’s heart started pounding. What if Leo had brought his parents? Her breathing quickened. She should have fought Jemma when she had the chance. She could never take two kids and an adult. Instinctively, she withdrew into the corner. The ladder creaked under someone’s footsteps. This was it. He had told his parents. Everything would be over now.  
Leo’s head popped up in the doorway. He dragged up a blanket in front of him and placed it in front of Jemma. When he had climbed in fully, he unshouldered a backpack and placed it in front of him.  
“Did Dad see you?” asked Jemma.  
“Yes. He- He was gardening. We’re building a f-fort.”  
“What?” Daisy asked.  
“He told him we were building a fort. We do sometimes. He won’t be suspicious,” Jemma placated her. “What did you bring?” she asked him.  
“Leftovers.” He took out a box with food and placed it in front of Daisy. He took out a fork and placed it carefully on top of the box. He looked at her expectantly. “Eat. We didn’t poison it.”  
Daisy squinted at Leo. That was a suspicious remark, but kids don’t poison food. They didn’t know how. The worst thing he could have done in that short amount of time was put chalk into her food, disgusting but not dangerous. She was hungry, so hungry, she hadn’t eaten since breakfast the day before to safe some food.  
While she was shoving the stir fry in the container into her mouth, Leo placed a water bottle, some physics books, some apples, chocolate and a small pillow in front of her.  
She grabbed the water bottle greedily and gulped down half of it before continuing to shovel the food into her mouth.  
She noticed Jemma watching her worriedly, so she slowed down a little.  
“Daisy,” Jemma stated tentatively, “how long have you really been running? We know it’s been over two weeks. Your clothes are dirty, you’re famished, your hair has twigs in it. Let us help you.”  
“I left the old foster home twenty nights ago,” she whispered.  
Jemma and Leo gasped. Jemma looked horrified, Leo just stared.  
“It wasn’t that bad,” she said hurriedly. “I’m fine, I just didn’t eat yet. I was going to the library later to clean up, too. I’m fine on my own.”  
“No.” Leo shook his head. “But we’ll help you.”  
And they did. For the next five weeks they kept bringing her food and blankets. Leo even began thinking about insulating the tree house, so that Daisy wouldn’t be too cold during winter. They met up in the library every afternoon or hung out at the tree house. And while Leo and Jemma went to school Daisy practiced reading and writing with books Jemma had borrowed for her from the library. It was getting even colder at night but with all the blankets and pillows the two brought her, it wasn’t too bad.  
One Friday afternoon they were playing a boardgame, when suddenly an adult’s face appeared in the doorway of their tree house.  
“Here you are! I’ve been looking for you,” a man said.


	4. Progress?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but you know how life gets.  
> Hope you enjoy :)

“So, this is where all my blankets went.” He raised his eyebrow. He didn’t look cross, though. Maybe they could convince him that she was a friend from school. Her clothes were folded in the corner and her cans were still in her backpack. It looked like a regular fort at first glance. They just had to keep him from looking too closely.

“Sorry, Dad. We were just playing games. This is Daisy, our friend from school.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said uncertainly.

“Nice to meet you, too, Daisy. Jemma, I told you we had a dentist’s appointment. We have to go. Come on Leo and Daisy. I’ll drive you home.” He motioned for them to come down from the tree house.

Daisy panicked. He would ask about her parents and where she lived. He’d find out. He would call the police. She tried to calm her breathing, but it wasn’t working. She was close to hyperventilating.

“No, thanks, Mr. Coulson. Daisy and I want to go to the library. We’ll walk.” Leo said quickly. Daisy breathed out heavily. That was quick thinking.

“All right. But don’t stay too long, your Mum will worry if you stay out after dark,” he conceded. “Come on, Jemma. We’ll be late.”

Jemma threw Daisy an apologetic look and climbed down the ladder after her dad.

Leo and Daisy cleaned up the game pieces silently. Leo didn’t speak a lot around her. It had gotten better and he always spoke more when Jemma was around, but he still preferred to stay silent around her.

“I thought you and Jemma were siblings,” Daisy said eventually. When he didn’t immediately answer, she continued: “You’re always together and you always only talk about Dad or Mum. And, well, I just thought she was your sister.”

She looked up at him, but he still wasn’t looking at her. He packed the boardgame into his backpack, zipped it up and then looked at her. “We’re not,” he said and looked down again. “But Jemma’s mum d-doesn’t live here. And my d-dad… left… when I was a… a… um…” He took a shaky breath. “when I was a baby.”

She could see tears in his eyes. She didn’t want to press, so she busied herself with straightening the blankets. She’d never known her parents. Somebody had left her at St. Agnes when she was a few months old. She had never found out who they were or why they had left her. They’d probably known she’d be nothing but trouble. Just like all the foster families who sent her back because she was just too much work or because she’d gotten hurt or she’d broken something. Countless families had sent her back to the orphanage for countless reasons, some of which she couldn’t even recall now. Yes, Daisy knew what it felt like to be abandoned by one’s family.

“Sorry,” she said sadly.

He looked up at her, as if just remembering she was still there. “No. I… my Mum’s great. And so is Mr. Coulson. I… you…at least we have one parent!” He almost shouted the last part and then flushed bright red. “No! I- No! That’s not what I meant.” He stared at her, blinking rapidly

“It’s fine. Uh… how long have you and Jemma known each other?” She tried to change the subject. She knew that Leo hadn’t meant it like that, that he just had trouble communicating. Still, it stung. At least they had one parent who loved them. Daisy had no one.

Leo exhaled. “Mr. Coulson and Jemma moved h-here two years ago. We met in kindergarten. We both like s-science… She’s my best friend.”

“I’ve never had a best friend. Only Skye.” She clutched her teddy bear to her chest and looked down at it sadly.

Leo had finished packing his things. “I’ll go to the library. Come?”

“M’kay. Let’s go.”

They walked silently to the library.

“Where do you live?” Daisy asked.

He didn’t answer verbally but instead pointed down a street next to the library.

“That’s cool,” Daisy said. “Living so close to the library.”

He nodded. “How is your reading?”

Daisy sighed. She’d been practicing for weeks now but she hadn’t made any progress. She had grown so frustrated with herself that she had thrown her supplies against the wall and then buried under the rest of her scarce possessions about a week ago and hadn’t tried since. She couldn’t tell that to Leo, though. He and Jemma had been so kind to her. The least she could do to make it up to them is be good at reading and writing. If they found out that she wasn’t good at it, they might kick her out of their tree house. She didn’t know why they let her stay there anyway. She couldn’t help them in any way, she wasn’t doing any chores for them, they didn’t get money for her being there. In the passing weeks she had often wondered what the two of them got out of letting her stay in their tree house. When Jemma had started bringing her books to learn how to read, she figured they would want her to do their homework once she had gotten better at it. They would start getting impatient soon, though, when they found out she wasn’t making progress.

“Fine,” she muttered.

He nodded again, approvingly.

She had to find a way to learn how to read. She could copy writing, she just did not know what the letters meant. Jemma had told her how to pronounce all the letters when she had first started but the words didn’t line up to form words. They didn’t make any sense. She probably just wasn’t smart enough. Still, she had to find a way.

Inside the library Leo went straight to the space section of the kid’s library. He pulled out a book about spaceships that he had started the other day and slumped down onto a pillow seat. Daisy took longer to pick out a book, mostly because she couldn’t read what they were about and she didn’t want to risk picking something that Leo would know was too hard for her. When she saw him looking up at her several times, she finally settled on a book with lots of pictures but enough text to pretend she was reading. If Leo asked, she could probably guess the story from the pictures, though. They looked interesting, a little girl in a knight’s armour with a sort. There were pigs, too.

Some time later, Daisy couldn’t really tell how long, the librarian came over to them. Instinctively, Daisy’s heart started beating faster. He knew Jemma and Leo and always reminded them to go home on time. He probably wasn’t a threat but Daisy couldn’t help herself. He was big and scary. Leo just mumbled “Okay, thanks” and packed his things, though, so she willed her heart to stop racing and put the book back onto the shelf and went to get her jacket. Leo hadn’t followed her, he was probably checking out his book, so she waited for him outside. She could hear thunder rumbling faintly in the distance.

Leo stepped outside the library building and showed her the book she had been looking at.

“You don’t have a card and you seemed to like it,” he explained.

Daisy just stared at him. Had he noticed that she wasn’t reading it? Would he ask her to read out loud to him and then laugh at her? Would he kick her out of the tree house now? She could feel her heart racing again. She was starting to sweat, too. This was a disaster.

“You said you’d never had a friend. We can be your friends,” he said and tried to give her the book again.

She blinked at him. She had not expected that. “Thank you,” she said tentatively. She carefully took the book from him and placed it in her backpack.

“I have to go now,” Leo said after a few seconds. “Mum’s waiting. I’ll see you soon.”

As they walked off into different directions Daisy could still feel her heart thumping in her chest. She felt trapped, somehow, despite Leo’s kind gesture. What did they want from her?

Suddenly, rain started pouring down on her and she had to run the last few hundred meters back to the tree house.

The next few days she tripled her efforts. She spent all her time learning how to read. Especially, since Jemma and Leo hadn’t visited her, since the day Mr. Coulson had shown up at the tree house. Maybe, they had figured out that she wasn’t worth their time.

The book Leo had checked out for her, had thankfully remained dry in her backpack. She couldn’t imagine what his mum would have done if she’d found out he’d given a library book to some dirty runaway, who had ruined it.

She tried reading the book and the ones she still had from Jemma. Sometimes she thought she could make out a word on the pages but then when she started to read the sentence again, none of the words seemed the same. She cried out in frustration, throwing the book against the wall again. It shouldn’t be this hard. Her older foster siblings had always gotten the hang of reading within a few weeks and they hadn’t spent nearly as much time as her trying. It just wasn’t fair.

To make matters worse, it had been raining pretty badly for the last couple of days. Most of her stuff was damp at best and completely soaked at worst. Without leftovers and snacks from Jemma and Leo she didn’t have a lot of food left. She had already had to dig into her small stash of canned food. She would have to find another food source soon. At least water wasn’t a problem with all the rain. It didn’t taste very well but beggars couldn’t be choosers as Ms. Malcolm had always said to her.

It had been at least a week since the day at the library and it hadn’t stopped raining since. Daisy had only half a can of beans left. She looked down onto the wet forest ground. It was covered with leaves and sticks. Maybe she could find some nuts down there. If she went outside now, though, her clothes would definitely get soaked. They already stuck to her skin, damp and cold. She decided the rest of her beans would just have to last until the rain let up.

She felt hopeless and abandoned. She was hungry and cold and just wanted this to end. Tears streamed down her hot cheeks. She tried to wipe them away. She had to be strong. She couldn’t let one minor setback destroy all her hopes. She started coughing, which only made her tears angrier.

Suddenly, Mr. Coulson’s head appeared in the doorway. Rain was dripping down his face. He looked at her seriously and said: “Come with me, Daisy.”


	5. Meeting Phil Coulson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay. I spilled water on my laptop like a pro. Yay, me! Luckily, I know I'm a dumbass, so I save everything in a cloud and not everything was lost.

Her heartrate went through the roof. Jemma must have told on her. It was really over this time. She would have to go back to the orphanage after all. She had barely lasted more than two months. She had been in most foster families longer. It had been a pathetic effort, but it had been something at least. She was furious at Jemma. She had promised. She had betrayed her trust. She was furious at herself, too. She should have never trusted her. She should have known. She should have expected it. She should have had an escape plan. Again. She still hadn’t learned.

“NO!” she said determinedly and stood up. “You’re not going to take me!”

“I’m not trying to hurt you, Daisy.”

“Yes, you are,” she screamed. “And I won’t let you!” The screaming made her delve into a coughing fit. “Don’t” She had to cough again. She backed away into the corner of the tree house and sank down, her legs hugged to her chest protectively.

“Daisy, you’re sick. Let me help you,” his voice was soft, but she wouldn’t be fooled.

“Okay,” he said. “But can I sit with you? The rain is pretty bad and I don’t want to get sick too.”

She scowled at him. She knew this was a trick. But seeing as he blocked the entrance anyway, she didn’t have much of a choice.

He took her silence as a yes and climbed into the tree house. He said across from her, his legs crossed in front of him.

“So, you’ve run away, huh?”

She didn’t respond.

He chuckled, which made her look up at him. What did he have to laugh about?

“You’re not very chatty, are you?” He paused, waiting for an answer but didn’t get one. “Don’t worry I’m plenty chatty for the both of us.” He smiled kindly. “I’m Phil, by the way. What’s his name?” he asked pointing at her teddy.

She grabbed it and held it to her. “Skye,” she whispered.

“That’s a nice name,” Phil commented. “I have a teddy, too. Well, he’s a doll, really. _I_ think it’s an action figure, but my friend Melinda says it’s a doll. His name is Cap. Like Captain America. I named it after him. Do you like Captain America?”

Daisy remained silent. She had no idea who Captain America is. She coughed, again. It didn’t matter, anyway. She wouldn’t be distracted for whatever he had planned.

“I always liked him because he always stuck up for the underdog, even before he became a superhero. When he sees someone who needs help, he helps. He’s also funny. So, what’s not to love?” He smiled at her.

She looked away from him. He seemed kind. But that could all be a ruse to get her to trust him. She wouldn’t fall for it.

“I try to be like him, you know? He’s sort of my role model.”

Her patience was starting to wear thin. Couldn’t he see that his tricks weren’t working on him? Why couldn’t he just tell her his plans.

“I want to help you,” he said softly.

“Why won’t you just admit you’re taking me back to the orphanage,” Daisy snapped. “You’re not going to make me trust you! I’m not going to come quietly!”

“Daisy,” he said softly, “I’m only trying to get you out of the cold. You’re ill, you’re coughing and you look feverish. I have some vegetable soup on the stove at home. Let me help you.”

He seemed sincere and she had gotten rather good at telling whether someone is lying over the years. But she had made so many mistakes lately, she couldn’t afford another one.

“I won’t take you back to the orphanage. You can stay with me and Jemma for now, until we find you another family.”

“I don’t want another family!” She pushed herself further into the corner. “I just want to be left alone! Leave me alone!” She screamed and then started coughing again. She started crying. “Just leave me alone,” she sobbed. “Leave me alone!”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” Phil said. He picked her up and she struggled against him. Her small fists pounded against him, but he was just too strong. She kept screaming and crying and struggling. She almost got away when he climbed down the ladder, but he held onto her. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he placated her. “And we’ll come back for your stuff tomorrow.”

He carried her back to the house. She was struggling the whole time. As her breathing got more rapid from the effort and the crying she coughed more and more often.

As soon as they neared the door, it flung open and Daisy heard Jemma’s voice firing rapidly: “I’m so sorry. So, so sorry, Daisy. I was just so worried. You were out there all alone for so long and it was raining the whole time. Most of your things must’ve gotten wet already and I didn’t want you getting ill. And your stash of cans must’ve only lasted until the day before yesterday, at most, if you were eating full portions at least once a day. And, oh, I was just so worried. And then Dad caught me trying to sneak out to bring you food and dry clothes and he was already suspicious because I kept asking to go to the tree house even though it was raining and I think he also saw all your things last week and-“

“Jemma,” Phil interrupted her, “breathe.” He set Daisy down gently, who immediately backed away to the side of the room. “You can explain later. We should get her dry and warm first. Why don’t you show her the bathroom and make sure she takes a warm shower, while I get some dry clothes and heat up some soup?”

“Okay, Dad,” Jemma said. “Come on, Daisy,” she instructed and grabbed her arm gently. “The bathroom’s this way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No cliffhanger this time ;) I hope you enjoyed meeting Mr. Coulson! Have a wonderful day, you wonderful people.


	6. Out of the Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter already? I know, right. I was surprised, too. But at least I'm productive at something.

Daisy let Jemma drag her along. She led her into a large bathroom and stopped her in front of the shower. She leaned in and turned on the water.

“It always takes a while to get warm,” she explained. “I’ll get you a fresh towel.”

She crouched down in front of one of the wooden counters and pulled out a towel. She hesitated.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” she said but didn’t leave immediately. “If you need anything,” she fumbled with her fingers in front of her, “I’ll be just outside.” With one final worried glance at Daisy, she left the room.

Daisy felt horrible. Her skin was burning at the warmth of the house after she’d been cold and wet for so long. Her chest ached and the back of her throat felt scratchy. She didn’t like the situation. She had trusted Leo and Jemma, but she did not trust Mr. Coulson. Even if Jemma had meant well, she should know that you can’t trust adults. They promised to stay but sent her back anyway. They promised to understand but screamed at her anyway. They promised to be kind but hit her anyway. Their promises meant nothing. He had promised not to hurt her or take her back to the orphanage but soon he, too, would grow frustrated with her and hit her or send her back. She couldn’t stay here. She would have to run away again.

A coughing fit took over her body. Tears sprung to her eyes from the pain in her throat.

She stepped into the now steaming shower. She might as well take advantage of the hot shower for now. Feeling as weak and helpless as she did at the moment, she would not make it far anyway.

The hot water felt so good on her cold skin that she started crying again. She had not taken a hot shower in so long. It must have been a bit over nine weeks ago, the morning of the day she left from the Malcolms’. She had managed to wash of well enough at the library, but it didn’t compare to the feeling of standing in the shower, hot steam engulfing her and feeling completely and utterly clean.

The water cleared her head a little. She was still hungry and her body still ached, but she felt her determination return. She just needed a plan. The farm house only had one storey, so she could probably escape through the window. If she left now, they would notice very soon and send someone after her. They would definitely find her. But she couldn’t wait too long either or they would call the police. They probably wouldn’t call anyone now; it was already dark outside and no one would come to get her until the morning. That meant she had to leave tonight, before Mr. Coulson had a chance to kill anyone. She would warm up and eat something and then at night when she could be sure Jemma and Mr. Coulson were asleep she would sneak out through the window and get her stuff from the tree house. Then she would have to be fast. Now that someone knew where she was, she did not have any room for mistakes anymore. She would have to walk all night at least and maybe catch a train or a bus in the morning.

She felt better now that she had a plan. Yet, her chest felt heavy with dread because she had been through this before. It felt exactly like before. Despite the things that made this time worse, her cold, her lack of food and dry clothes, this time she had her experiences from the last try on her side. She knew better now than to stay in one place for so long. She knew better now than to trust someone again. She would have an escape plan for every place she would stay.

When she stepped out of the shower, she dried the last of her tears. She couldn’t afford to be weak, to be held back by her emotions and her stupidity. She would be strong. She had no other choice.

When she exited the bathroom with the towel rapped around her, she almost ran into Jemma, who looked like she had been hovering just outside the bathroom, fidgeting.

“How are you? I picked out some clothes for you. They’re in my room. You can change there. My clothes will probably fit you.” She went to take a step towards her but seemed to think better of it. “I’m sorry, Daisy. I didn’t mean to tell Dad about you. But I promise that he won’t call anyone without discussing it with you first. You can trust him. He just wants to help.”

Daisy didn’t know what to think of that. Jemma and Leo had been nothing but kind to her. Leo had told her that they would be her friends. She had trusted them. And then Jemma had betrayed her. She wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Daisy clenched her jaw. “Can I get dressed?”

Jemma’s face fell. “Of course.” She led her to her room.

Jemma’s bedroom was breath-taking. Daisy had never seen such a beautiful bedroom before. It was spacious and clean. The walls were dark blue and the carpet beige. On the wall opposite the door were big windows with a large desk in front of them. On it were books and papers, neatly stacked, pencils and crayons in colourful mugs and a picture of Jemma and a red-haired woman. On one wall stood a long bookshelf that covered almost the entire length of the wall. It wasn’t all full of books, though. It also had plastic boxes, probably with toys, trophies, a small microscope and a chemistry set for children. She could even see something like a tiny playground with small insects in a dome on one of the shelves. In the middle of the room stood a small table with four small chairs around it, with a boardgame that looked like it was only half finished. In one corner was a wooden bunkbed, but the bottom bunk looked like it was only used as a sofa, with pillows in different shades of blue and white prepped against the wall. A couple of stuffed animals were carefully seated on a small rug on the floor next to the bed around a plastic tea set. Next to the bed was a wooden dresser with a mirror on one of the doors. The other side of the closet was full of drawings of stars and shapes and stick figures and photographs of Mr. Coulson and Jemma laughing and Leo and Jemma smiling at the camera on their first day of school and what looked to be Leo’s birthday. Daisy’s heart ached. When she was smaller, she had always imagined what it would be like to have a real family, one that would laugh with her and take pictures with her, a family that would love her. She had quickly learned that that just wasn’t an option for a troubled child like her.

She hadn’t noticed that she’d been staring at the room until Jemma called her name.

“I… nice room,” she replied.

“Thanks,” Jemma said cheerfully. “The clothes are on the bed. I’ll wait outside.”

Daisy carefully stepped into the room. She heard the door close behind her. She truly had never seen such a beautiful room before. All the rooms she had stayed at were empty and lifeless, even her foster siblings’ rooms could not in a million years compare to the warmth she felt in this room. She didn’t know how, but the room felt kind and welcoming, like someone’s favourite place, a place one would actually want to spend time in. It didn’t feel like a prison at all. It felt like a someone’s home.

She shook these feelings off. She couldn’t afford to become sentimental over a room. She put on the clothes Jemma had laid out for her, they were a little small for her, but Daisy was used to wearing clothes that didn’t fit properly, so it didn’t bother her.

She turned towards the door and closed her eyes one more time, to prepare herself for another conversation with Mr. Coulson and what it would mean for her future. With one last breath she opened the door and stepped outside to meet Jemma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, poor Daisy is finally out of the cold and at the Coulsons'. I did not mean for that to take as long as it did, but it got away from me.  
> Also, if anyone's wondering why my commas are all over the place/not where they're supposed to be, it's because I genuinely have no idea if there are even rules for where to put commas in English. I apologise.
> 
> I would be eternally grateful if you left a comment.   
> Hope you enjoyed.


	7. Why Don't Plans Ever Work?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost stuck to my own schedule this time. I'm kinda surprised, not gonna lie.   
> I'm trying to update every weekend now. But university is starting up again this week and I still haven't finished my last research paper from last semester (I know. don't judge.), so I might not end up sticking to the schedule as much as I would like.

She followed Jemma down the hallway into the kitchen/dining area. Mr. Coulson, who had been stirring soup, looked up at them and smiled. “There you are! The soup is all warmed up and I made some bread this afternoon.”

Daisy just stood there and gaped at him, unsure about what to do.

“Sit!” he ordered, not unkindly, and pointed at the wooden dining table in the corner. Daisy walked over gingerly and decided to sit on the red and white plaid padded bench that was attached to the wall. She sat half on the edge, so that she could get up again easily. From here she could see the front door. It was stupid of her to want to keep an eye on the front door, nothing was going to attack her, but she had to cover her bases. Jemma placed a basket filled with bread on the table and 0sat down on one of the chairs across from her.

Mr. Coulson placed a bowl of soup and a glass of water in front of her and sat down next to Jemma. They were both looking at her now and it made her uneasy. The soup in front of her smelled so good. Daisy had almost forgotten how hungry she was, she was so anxious. Now, all she wanted to do was eat the soup Mr. Coulson had offered her, but she didn’t want to make him mad. She looked up at him uncertainly.

“Eat!” Jemma urged. She had barely closed her mouth before Daisy begun digging in. She was vaguely aware of Jemma’s continued chatter. “You must be so hungry, you poor thing. I’ve been so worried. You had so little food left and it’s been so rainy and, oh good, it’s been so cold outside. You must be half turned to an icicle by now.”

Daisy had emptied the bowl in no time. She wolfed down the last of her piece of bread and looked up at Jemma and Mr. Coulson to find them looking at her again. Mr. Coulson was frowning this time, though. Daisy instinctively leant back into the upholstery of the bench, away from him. “I’m sorry!” she exclaimed. Her eyes darted wildly from Jemma to Mr. Coulson.

“You did nothing wrong, Daisy,” Mr. Coulson placated her. “Do you want more?”

She was still hungry, but she didn’t want to strain their hospitality. Then again, if she was going to make a run for it tonight, she would need the sustenance. Who knew when she would find food again. She nodded yes.

As Mr. Coulson got up to refill her bowl, Jemma opened and closed her mouth several times, as if wanting to say something.

“Dad said you’re afraid we’re going to take you back to the orphanage,” she finally said. “You want to run away again, don’t you?.”

Daisy’s heartbeat sped up again. She really had to learn to control her fear. What would happen now? Would they lock her into the cellar? Would they stay with her until social services arrived? She wanted to run but was rooted to her seat. She tried to control her breathing, to not show her fear. She could lie.

“I… no…” She couldn’t think of a lie that made sense. If Mr. Coulson had told Jemma what Daisy had screamed at him earlier, she had nothing else to say that would convince her. Tears started pricking in her eyes.

“I don’t want to go back to the orphanage,” she sniffed.

Jemma got up from her seat and sat back down next to her. “We’re not making you go back to the orphanage if you don’t want to, Daisy. Dad said you can stay here for now.”

She wiped her tears with her shirt sleeves. “I don’t want to bother you. I can just stay in the tree house for a bit longer and then in summer I’ll find somewhere else to stay when you and Leo need the tree house back,” she said softly.

Mr. Coulson had come back with the soup and placed it in front of her. “You’re not bothering anyone, Daisy. And you can’t stay outside. You’re already sick, honey, and the weather is only going to get worse. We have enough space; you can stay here for now.”

This sounded too good to be true. She wanted this to work out, she wanted to stay here with Mr. Coulson, who gave her second helpings of soup and bread and Jemma, who had helped her from the beginning, who was smart and nerdy and kind.

Mr. Coulson sat down opposite her and Jemma. “But, and please don’t take this the wrong way. I promise I’m not going to do anything without asking you first, okay? Promise me you’re going to hear me out.” He looked at her imploringly.

It _was_ too good to be true, then. He would call social services, he would hand her off to some family, who wanted the extra money, who wanted the extra help around the house. They had promised not to send her to the orphanage, but they hadn’t said anything about other families. Her breath quickened and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Her thoughts were racing. She needed to find a way out. She needed to go. She couldn’t do this. Not again. She needed to go. But she couldn’t move.

“Daisy!” she heard Jemma’s voice, but it sounded dull and distant. She felt Jemma’s hand on her arm and pulled her out of her haze. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she muttered but her breathing still hadn’t evened out entirely.

“I think you’re having a panic attack. I read about it in a book at the library. You need to breathe in and count to five, hold your breath, count to two and breathe out counting to five.” She took her hands. “Breathe with me.”

She followed Jemma’s breathing. Count to five in, count to two hold, count to five out. After a couple of times her breathing evened out.

“Thanks,” she told Jemma.

“No problem. How often do you get panic attacks?”

Daisy shrugged. It didn’t matter anyway. Her dumb, out of control breathing was the least of her worries right now.  “Please don’t make me go to another family.”

“We won’t, Daisy,” Mr. Coulson assured her. “But we will have to make legal arrangements. Otherwise I would get in trouble with the police, okay?”

“Why can’t you just let me leave?” she sniffled. “I can take care of myself.”

“You can’t stay outside. You need to be in a home, Daisy. You need to eat regular meals and sleep in a real bed. You need to go to school and have playdates with your friends. You can’t do any of that if you live in a tree house. Okay?”

She didn’t know what to think. They seemed to genuinely want to help her, but what was stopping him from dumping her in the orphanage the first chance he got? But what else could she do than agree? Run away, sick and out of food, with Jemma and Mr. Coulson watching over her like two concerned hawks? Then they would definitely send her away. All her confidence from before had evaporated. She was officially out of options. She had no other choice but to stay with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having so much trouble getting Daisy to trust them without making it seem too easy. I hope it doesn't seem too back and forth.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.


End file.
